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Dept for Transport

Answer

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average public subsidy per journey is for (a) tram and light rail schemes, (b) bus routes and (c) underground railway schemes. [62810] Mr. Jamieson: Relevant statistics are published in "Transport Statistics Bulletin", from which the following are extracts: Local bus services, Great Britain, 2000-01 A. Concessionary fare reimbursement--£468 million B. Fuel duty rebate--£362 million C. Total subsidy (A+B)--£830 million D. Number of passenger journeys--4,309 million E. Subsidy per passenger journey (C/A)--£0.19. In addition, public transport support of £386 million was paid by local authorities mainly to support local bus services which were socially necessary but were not commercially viable. This includes Rural Bus Subsidy grant, Rural Bus Challenge, payments to operators, professional and technical services, and Pension Increase Act costs. For tram and light rail schemes and Glasgow Underground, the only public subsidy is concessionary fare reimbursement, the figures for which cannot be disaggregated from those for ferries. The combined figures for this expenditure are in Table 21 of "Transport Statistics Bulletin". For London Underground, concessionary fare reimbursement was £26 million in 2000-01, and passenger journeys 970 million, giving a figure per journey of 3p.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

62810; 387 c881-2W;387 c979-80W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Bus services Concessions Fares Finance Public transport Rapid transit systems Underground railways Trams

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk